


5 times everyone wanted FitzSimmons to spend the 14th of February together… and 1 time everyone interrupted their date…

by mcuwatcher85



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fitzsimmons Secret Valentine, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 03:25:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3341771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcuwatcher85/pseuds/mcuwatcher85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fitzsimmons Secret Valentine gift for littlesciencebabies - prompt was "The many times people try to set FitzSimmons up on Valentine's day"</p>
<p>My very first posting to AO3 and my very first time writing AOS / MCU fanfic. Please leave comments here or on Tumblr (same username).</p></blockquote>





	5 times everyone wanted FitzSimmons to spend the 14th of February together… and 1 time everyone interrupted their date…

#### 2005- SHIELD ACADEMY

As usual, each Friday in class the various chemistry teams gathered to select lab times for the upcoming week - which for the pair recently dubbed “FitzSimmons” by a TA meant that Jemma was choosing a lab time while her Scottish partner stood by a wall waiting to be told when to show up. Despite his high level of talent, or perhaps because of it, Fitz never seemed to have much of an opinion on when they worked on their shared project. 

The older students quickly called out days and times - but this week nobody seemed too eager to select Monday, so Jemma spoke up, “6 PM till 9 PM on Monday” to grab the prime slot. Having their work done on Monday would be one less thing to worry about the rest of the week, and she had an exam on antiserum testing procedures on Thursday so this was ideal. Already a full schedule for the week was forming in her mind… as soon as she got back to her room she’d write it all down.

Only after she spoke up did all the other students begin to grin as if they were in on some sort of joke she wasn’t - whether due to age or being one of only two British students their class. She looked to Fitz to see if he had any idea but he seemed just as curious about the joke as she was, but turned away and began walking towards his next class, having obviously already heard her choice.

As the lecture hall began to empty, she saw her roommate Susan and the nearest thing she had to a “best friend” out in the hall, clearly waiting on someone from her class. But it was not Jemma who was greeted first, but Susan’s older sister who happened to be the TA that called them FitzSimmons.

“So, did it work? Are our two British friends signed up for the night they wanted?” she asked quietly but with a smile that clearly indicated some sort of… shenanigans… were in mind.

“What do mean the night we wanted?” came the distinctive Scottish brogue of her usual rather quiet lab partner, who had overheard the two sisters.

Susan replied with a quick smirk “February 14th… Valentine’s Day. Every couple should be spend it together, and for you two doing science would be more fun than a fancy dinner, right?”

Jemma could only stutter out a confused “what… we don’t… “ in response to this. She didn’t think of Fitz in that way at all, and he could barely stand to be around her, much less… enjoy her company.

Fitz didn’t say anything, merely turned and walked away quickly. Jemma knew he had a free period so he clearly wasn’t in a hurry to get to class. This merely confirmed that she hadn’t misunderstood his odd mix of silence and competitiveness before they had been forced to work together. 

It wasn’t till weeks later that she realized the first time they had talked about Doctor Who was that Monday. It was also the first time they had successfully gotten the reaction to work without creating a column of steam. They may have been set up against their will, but it had turned out better than Jemma had dared to dream.

#### 2007 - SCI-OPS TECH CENTER (LOCATION: CLASSIFIED) 

Fitz was hungry. This was a fairly normal occurrence, but this particular afternoon was worse than usual due to the cat liver that SOMEONE had left by his lunch. His appetite had been temporarily ruined and his food disposed of. Then about two hours later it had come back with a vengeance, so now he was heading for the mess hall at Sci-Ops to see if anything decent was left from the main lunch.

He figured he’d be the only agent present in the mess at 3 in the afternoon but there was another man, several years older and clearly a field agent, looking over the leftover pizza and corn-dogs. Fitz walked over to the “build your own sandwich” area (while wondering how to pesto aioli onto the selection list) and began working on a decent lunch.

The other agent was already eating when Fitz had paid, and started talking on his phone as Fitz sat down, “Hey Nat, just got back from Thailand… yes in one piece. Nope, only half of them did what they were supposed to do. We've got to find an engineer who actually knows what he’s doing, not that Russian friend of yours. OK, call me when you get in.”

Fitz overheard this and was curious - an engineering project that directly supported field agents wasn't the most common thing for him to help with these days, so for once he spoke up: “I couldn't help overhearing… you need an engineer to help with field equipment?”

The older man turned and gave a rather odd grin… as if he’d know this would happen… and moved to sit across from Fitz, who introduced himself as Dr. Fitz, Level 3 engineer, but the other man did not give a name.

“Yeah, I’m trying to get a compact, timer triggered, directional high explosive to work on a very small scale - no more than 30 millimeters long and 10 millimeters wide.”

Fitz’s eyes widened involuntarily at the challenge… and then he grinned, “That sounds like something I can help with. Is this for armor piercing bullets or something?” 

“That’s classified,” the other man responded with an eye roll that showed what he thought about the strict SHIELD clearance levels, “but how about I get clearance for you to get the full details and we can meet in your lab tomorrow?” 

Fitz nodded as they each finished their meals, and headed towards the elevators. The field agent insisted on following Fitz back to his lab so he could find it in the morning, and had that same cocky grin on his face when they got to the lab and found Simmons washing up after finally finishing her work on the cat that had been exposed to the lastest 0-8-4 discovery. 

“Good news Fitz!” the biochemist exclaimed as she heard the doors open, “The cat was neither radioactive or mutated. I told you the sandwich was perfectly…” she continued as she turned around, “Oh, hello, my name is Jemma Simmons” she greeted their guest.

“Yes, I’ve heard of you… Fitzsimmons… the young miracle workers”, he responded without missing a beat, “I’ve just been filling your boyfriend here in on an engineering problem I’m having.”

“I’m not her,” Fitz tried to respond as Simmons spoke over him while shaking her head “We’re just partners… Agent?”

“Ha… my… partner doesn’t like to admit it either, especially today. I’m sure you two are very professional while on the clock and all that.” he said as his phone rang. “Yeah, I’ll meet you out front in a minute” he answered the person on the other end. “Well, my… partner… and I are off to a movie and then dinner. You’re both welcome to join us.”

The two scientist declined the offer and the field agent headed back to the elevator. 

“Wait!” called Fitz as he chased down the the older man who was already in the lift, “what is your name?”

“I get called a lot of names kid - but you can call me Clint,” he answered as the doors slid closed.

It wasn’t till the next day, when the full project specs were given to Fitz (via email as Clint had already gotten another mission) that the Scottish engineer realized which SHIELD Agent he had met. When he told Simmons they agreed that next time a living legend like Hawkeye asked them to go to dinner (most likely with the Black Widow if the rumors were true) they’d accept, even if it mean pretending to be a romantic couple. But years later, when the Cavalry asked, they didn’t have to pretend at all.

#### 2010 - A SMALL INN HALFWAY BETWEEN ABERDEEN AND PLYMOUTH

The three week break from lab work was nearly at an end. She and Fitz had only gotten one day of for Christmas itself, so the choice to spend their entire vacation with their families back home had been an easy one.

They had left her grandparent’s house in Plymouth later than originally planned (where Jemma had inherited her sense of punctuality was a true genetic mystery) and had realized that there was no way they’d make it all the way past Wales and across Scotland before midnight. 

So as they were stuck in traffic near Manchester, Jemma looked for a hotel somewhere near the Scottish border for them to stay in. Finally she found a place with open rooms that they could afford with only the money they had on hand - a bit out of the way on the coast - but it looked nice enough.

When they arrived at “Angie’s Cottage” nearly 3 hours later, the sun was already going down and they quickly went to get a room. The desk was being run by a middle aged man with a bit of an odd accent, who informed them that two of the three open rooms had already been taken since they had called earlier. 

After some discussion back and forth they had taken that room - with Fitz sleeping in a chair despite Jemma’s insistence that the bed was big enough for both of them.

The following morning they headed down for breakfast, where they were greeted by a rather elderly lady who as it turned out was the wife of the owner - Angie herself - and an American as well.

“So how did a girl born and raised in New York find herself running a bed and breakfast on shore of the Irish Sea?” Jemma asked as Fitz served them both more tea.

“Well, I met this lovely lady from England shortly after the war - she ate at my diner near every night and then we lived together for awhile. She was from these parts, and somehow she convinced me to move here in the 50’s even as she got married and stayed in America” she replied.

“I was beginning to wonder if I’d made a terrible mistake, when I met my dear Richard at an audition for a play in London. I was a waitress again, and he was ran the desk at some fancy hotel.” she continued with a smile, “We shared a bottle of schnapps one night, and the next thing I know it’s the year 2000 and I have half a dozen grand-kids trying to help me change the linens at an inn named after me. But I’m sure you two know what it’s like to lose all track of time with the one you love… “

Fitz quickly explained “We are just work partners, “ as Jemma quickly laughed and added “and friends, nothing more”.

“Ha!” Angie exclaimed with a raised eyebrow, “those are the exact words Peggy and Daniel said to be two years before they got married. And they weren't sharing breakfast on Valentine’s Day.”

#### 2014 - SHIELD 616 IN FLIGHT OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

Fitz was restless since their visit to the Academy. Remembering how he and Simmons had met had only added to the odd feeling he had whenever he was alone with his partner. So far it had not affected their work, and nobody seemed to notice, but for some reason it just wasn't the same.

It hadn’t really been the same since he’d seen Jemma fall into the wind while trapped behind a locked glass door.

But for now the team was relaxing with a board game, and Fitz could focus on something other than his partner in science and his rival in Trivial Pursuit.So far the game was going as expected - Ward had the sports triangle, Skye the entertainment triangle, both he and Simmons had 4 of their 6 triangles already, and Coulson was trying to remember who discovered the structure of DNA to win his third triangle. May was flying the plane.

However, despite being arguably the farthest from winning Skye seemed more interested in learning about SHIELD’s “dating rules” since it was Valentine’s Day.

“So there’s about 20 pages of rules, but it all really just means ‘Don’t date your boss’ and ‘Don’t let your feelings affect the mission’ if you read it correctly?” the hacker asked their boss, who clearly was not enjoying this conversation.

“Basically, yes… SHIELD protocol allows for agents who work in safe environments or on separate teams to… fraternize as they see fit. And as with any large organization nobody can date a direct report or superior. And yes, to be honest, dating within SHIELD can work as you only have to keep specific secrets during active missions for the most part.” Coulson finally answered with sigh after giving up on the question and letting Skye take her turn.

“So a couple that worked in safe lab is fine - but as field agents they’d have more hoops to jump through… “ Skye responded as she shifted her gaze over to the British scientists who were both now impatiently waiting for their friend to roll the dice and keep the game going.

“Yes, that is correct,” Simmons answered, “but very few scientists choose to do either of those things. Now, can we get back to the game?”.

“But you two did,” Skye replied with a barely hidden smirk, “I mean, the field agent part, at least.”

“Only the field agent part” Fitz quickly responded as Jemma voiced the same. But Skye continued her line of discussion even as she moved her game piece 5 spaces and onto the sports triangle location. “Ask me something easy this time Simmons,” she pleaded, “and I won’t bring up the fact that SOMEONE was eating chocolate out of a heart shaped container earlier this afternoon.” 

This comment raised eyebrows from all 3 of the guys gathered at the table, but Simmons quickly explained that “My father always bought myself and my mom gifts each year for Valentines. Since I told him I was traveling a lot now, he had them waiting at the HUB when we were last there, and I just waited till today to eat them.” 

This kept Skye from bringing up dating for the rest of the game (that as usual Simmons won) and the team went to their own areas to prepare for the next mission as best as they could. It was only after Fitz had restocked their supply of dendrotoxin rounds that he noticed that the lab had been... altered. 

There were pink balloons floating up near the ceiling, and little pink post-it notes here and there with what could only be described as the worst pickup lines ever used by or on scientists. “Chemists do it on the table periodically,” Fitz muttered as he cleaned them up before Simmons returned from a final debrief with May on the mission at the Academy, “as if Simmons would ever do… that… in a lab.” 

“Maybe she would if you asked nicely” the lab vandal known as Skye said as she stepped out from wherever she had been hiding, causing Fitz to jump halfway onto the holo-table itself.

Fitz tried to responded but could only stutter and mumble. The thought of Jemma Simmons doing such things with him in a lab simply shut his brain down, as if the oxygen had been cut off.

Skye took his silence as an agreement and practically skipped out of the lab.

#### 

#### 2015 - THE PLAYGROUND (LOCATION: CLASSIFIED)

It had been nearly 6 months since Puerto Rico, and everything that had changed during that mission. Jemma was finally used the new normal... the new rules to follow: don’t mention Trip to anyone but May, always check the tectonic status of a region before sending Skye on a mission, and never go down to the garage unless it was mission / official assignment related. 

Hunter and Bobbi had trouble with that last one (but for entirely different reasons than Jemma), which was the one truly bright spot in their lives. After everything they were finally trusting each other. They even had plans tonight, on Valentine’s Day, and Jemma and Skye were being the little sisters neither had ever had the chance to be as children and helping Bobbi get ready.

“So, anyone else got plans for tonight?” the older agent asked as she put away the shoes that had been rejected (mostly heels) and did a final check on her hair and makeup.

“Very funny Bobbi,” Skye replied with a smirk, “but I am literally a walking natural disaster, and the two smartest people I know are still being idiots. Though I am a bit curious what May and Coulson are up to - no mission, briefings, or reports due today or tomorrow.”

Jemma rolled her eyes at Skye’s comments, and informed her that “Fitz asked to move to the garage, and I’m just respecting his wishes”. 

“And your wishes?” Bobbi replied, “Have you decided if the... roller coaster... is what you want?”

“No… I mean I’m still not sure” Jemma clarified. She was lying, and had no doubt the two trained spies could tell even as she avoided their knowing looks.

The other two women just smiled and shook their heads. As they headed down the main hall towards the garage Skye started texting - probably teasing Hunter about the heels. Before Jemma could confirm, she was suddenly being lifted off the ground by Bobbi and shoved into the garage storage room and the door locked behind her. 

“BOBBI… SKYE!!” she yelled out as she tried to force the door open, “let me out, this is not funny!”

Then she remember this room had two entrances, and rushed to get around the corner to the door that opened into the garage itself. Just as she rounded the corner, the door was opened and Fitz was shoved in by Hunter and Mack (clearly the boys had done their own pre-date bonding as well).

The intercom crackled above them with Skye’s voice “You two are stuck in there till you fix… whatever this is between you. If you try to build some gadget to get out, I’ll just bring the walls down on you”. From the girl Hunter had dubbed “Quake” this was far from an idle threat. 

They ended up spending the entire night in that room (much to Skye’s delight and endless teasing) but despite what their friend claimed, the return of Fitzsimmons from being just Fitz and Simmons had been (almost) entirely chaste, and for most the night no more than platonic. She had finally explained exactly why she left, and why she never would again, and that of all the things she had ever thought about Leopold Fitz, she had never once thought him useless or a burden. The night Skye actually should have teased them about didn’t happen for another month - but nobody ever found out about that.

#### 

#### 2018 - The First Valentine’s Date as Fitz-Simmons

Fitz still sometimes doubted that this was real - that the amazing woman sitting next to him at the park bench was in fact his wife. This was only the second time they had intentionally made plans for Valentine’s Day, but as Jemma had pointed out the previous year, it was not the first one they’d spent together and made memories. 

Their plans today were fairly simple (founding members of the reborn SHIELD don’t really have time for big vacations) but in Fitz’s mind they were absolutely perfect.

They had left the base before the sun came up (ok, maybe not perfect - that part was all Jemma) in their wedding present from Mack, Skye, and Hunter: a highly modified 90’s Range Rover. Mack had upgraded the mechanical components, Skye had installed all the electronics one could need (on missions) or want (on downtime). Fitz still wasn’t sure what exactly Hunter had contributed. But it was a nice ride with just the right mix of secret agent and good old fashioned British style, and had gotten them to the nearly deserted park, where they sat at the very same table where he had proposed the previous year. 

At the time, in the midst of the Superhero Civil War as all the news stations called it, getting married seemed like a horrible idea in some ways. But Jemma had correctly pointed out that “If we wait for our lives to get safe, boring, or even just normal I’ll be too old to walk down the aisle!!” so that summer they had gotten married at a small ceremony in northern England with only their family present - biological and otherwise. 

And now they were officially… well, as officially as they could be given that Skye had technically erased them from every database on Earth to protect them from Hydra… Fitz-Simmons. 

Mr Doctor Fitz-Simmons and Mrs Doctor Doctor Fitz-Simmons, at least according to Bobbi.

But for now all they were was a couple sharing some sandwiches on a park bench, though not just “any” sandwich, but the sandwich… the one that really defined them. A bit of an odd combination, but once you experienced it there was nothing that could possibly compare.

As Jemma leaned against him and sighed contentedly, Fitz asked, “Anything else you’d like to do tonight? Coulson said we weren't expected back till Thursday night… “

On cue, their phones rang, the distinct tone used only for the SHIELD leadership team members. Jemma tried to answer it but Fitz gently grabbed her wrist.

“Fitz, it could be important,” Jemma protested, but the phone stopped ringing before she pulled herself free. 

“See, it’s gone to… to voice-mail already. We can check it when we get to the cabin tonight. If they call again we’ll know… “ he answered but was cut off by the phones yet again. 

“Skye,” Jemma responded after answering, “we specifically said only to call us if there’s something truly life threatening... or world ending...” and then she stopped as her face grew pale.

Fitz did not want this moment to end but had to ask “What... what could possibly be happening now?”.

“A large number of refugees just arrived at the new base - ASGARDIAN refugees” Jemma explained in a restrained panic, as she turned off the phone and began gathering their things, “and they are warning us of some monster name Thanos who’s coming for Earth next.”

There were only three things Fitz could think about as they hurried back to the base while breaking every traffic law Fitz knew of… Thanos wasn't a part of Norse mythology as far as he could recall so he had no clue what they were up against, whether he might actually get to see the Avengers again (assuming they would stop fighting each other for a threat like this), and that no matter what the universe (or multi-verse) threw at them, he and Jemma would face it together like they had everything else for the past 13 years.

**Author's Note:**

> Fitzsimmons Secret Valentine gift for littlesciencebabies - prompt was "The many times people try to set FitzSimmons up on Valentine's day"
> 
> My very first posting to AO3 and my very first time writing AOS / MCU fanfic. Please leave comments here or on Tumblr (same username).


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